Apparatus for cleaning an electronic circuit board

ABSTRACT

Apparatus for cleaning an electronic circuit board is disclosed. The electronic circuit board is provided with a substrate layer and a copper layer. A solder mask is applied to the electronic circuit board and a channel is formed in the solder mask. The channel includes an inlet and an outlet. A component is affixed to the electronic circuit board over the channel and cleaning fluid is passed through the channel to remove residual solder flux from between the component and the electronic circuit board.

BACKGROUND

The present disclosure relates generally to an apparatus to facilitatecleaning electronic circuit boards and, more particularly, to anelectronic circuit board including passages for cleaning residue aftersolder operations.

The use of conventional solder masks in the manufacture of electroniccircuit boards can result in a substantial buildup of flux residue afterthe solder reflow process. Electronic circuit boards manufactured withsuch conventional solder masks, particularly electronic circuit boardsfor use with components with low standoff heights, can entrap fluxunderneath attached components. In addition, conventional solder masksand accompanying cleaning methods often require time-consuming cleaningmethods that may not adequately remove flux residue.

SUMMARY

According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, a method forfabricating an electronic circuit board having a base substrate layerand a copper layer over the base substrate layer, the method comprising:applying a solder mask to the base substrate layer and the copper layer;forming a channel in the solder mask, the channel having an inlet and anoutlet; affixing a component to the copper layer, wherein the componentis disposed above the channel such that the inlet and the outlet extendbeyond the component; and passing a fluid through the channel.

According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, a method forcleaning an electronic circuit board having a base substrate layer, acopper layer over the base substrate layer, a solder mask formed overthe base substrate layer and the copper layer, and a component affixedto the copper layer and disposed over a channel formed in the soldermask, the channel including an inlet that extends beyond one side of thecomponent and an outlet that extends beyond an opposite side of thecomponent, the method comprising: directing a cleaning solution into thechannel via the inlet; and expelling the cleaning solution via theoutlet of the channel to cleaning a region of the electronic circuitboard underneath the component.

According to yet another embodiment of the present disclosure, anelectronic circuit board, comprising: a base substrate layer; a copperlayer over the base substrate layer; a solder mask formed over the basesubstrate layer and the copper layer; a component affixed to the copperlayer and disposed over a channel formed in the solder mask, the channelincluding: a main channel portion formed in the solder mask; an inletformed in the solder mask extending beyond the component at one end ofthe main channel portion; and an outlet formed in the solder maskextending beyond the component at an end of the main channel portionopposite the inlet.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of an electronic circuit board with aconventional solder mask;

FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view of an electronic circuit board with amodified solder mask;

FIG. 3 is a schematic plan view of an electronic circuit board with asolder mask in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 4 is a cross sectional view of the electronic circuit board with asolder mask illustrated in FIG. 3; and

FIG. 5 is a schematic plan view of an electronic circuit board with asolder mask in accordance with an alternative embodiment of the presentinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present disclosure describes particular embodiments including anapparatus and method for cleaning electronic circuit boards.

As used herein, an “electronic circuit board” includes, but is notlimited to, printed circuit boards and other electronic products formedin a similar manner to printed circuit boards described in a mannerherein.

As used herein, a “component” includes, but is not limited to, devicesthat may be affixed to a printed circuit board or any other suitableelectronic product, such as capacitors, resistors, integrated circuits,processors, logic chips, other chips, or other devices. Such componentsmay be affixed and electrically connected to the electronic circuitboard via soldering. A component may have a standoff height of about ½mil (12.7 micrometers) resulting in only ½ mil (12.7 micrometers)clearance between the component and the underlying board.

Printed circuit boards mechanically support and electrically connectelectronic components using conductive traces, pads and other featuresetched from copper sheets laminated onto a non-conductive substrate. Aprinted circuit board includes a non-conductive base laminate, alsoknown as a substrate. Conductive traces, pads, and other features areetched from copper sheets and are laminated onto the substrate. Theprinted circuit board is then covered with a solder mask. The soldermask is a 1-1.5 mil (25.4-38.1 micrometers) thick coating that coversareas that are not intended to receive solder. Solder maskstraditionally expose copper pads while masking the conductive paths ortraces. Solder masks may further mask other portions of the board thatmay need to be protected from solder. The solder mask may be formed byapplying a photosensitive coating to the surface of the printed circuitboard and exposing light to the coating through a solder mask image filmto develop the coating. The unexposed areas are then removed, leavingthe solder mask as designed. The solder mask and the accompanying soldermask image film may be designed using computer aided design.

After the solder mask is applied and the board is finalized, componentsmay be affixed to the board using the pads created on the board.Components are positioned and then soldered to the board. After thecomponents are affixed with solder, residual solder flux may remain.Boards may be cleaned with the use of cleaning equipment that utilize apressure manifold or other batch cleaning methods. Residual solder flux,particularly residual solder flux underneath the components, may not beeasily cleaned. Also, conventional cleaning methods may betime-consuming and/or not sufficient in cleaning solder residues frombetween the board and the components. Inadequate or incomplete cleaningunderneath components can lead to a flux dam, flux gasketing, dendriticflux flow, metal migration, captive solder balls or other contaminationor build up. Such contamination may be exacerbated by environmentalconditions, such as moisture or humidity present during manufacture oruse. This residue can cause corrosion, an electrical shortage, orotherwise undesirable performance.

As components and boards have become smaller, and the standoff betweenboard and components have decreased, the need for improved cleaningmethods has increased. In general, a standoff height may approach ½ mil(12.7 micrometers) of clearance. Additionally, the introduction of leadfree solder has increased solder temperatures and compositions that maymake residue harder to remove.

FIG. 1 shows a conventional board 102 as known in the art. Theconventional board 102 includes component 104, solder mask 106, solderpads 108, and an unmasked portion 110. The component 104 (shown as anoutline to show underlying features) is attached to the board 102 viasolder pads 108. Component 104 may be attached to board 102 using solderheated, for example, using a solder reflow oven. The solder mask 106 ispresent underneath component 104, notably in the region 109 between pads108. Residual solder flux from the soldering process may build upbetween board 102 and component 104 and may not easily be removed. Thisresidual flux build-up may be exacerbated as the standoff height ofcomponent 104 is reduced to bring component 104 closer to board 102.

FIG. 2 shows another conventional board 212 as known in the art. Board212 includes component 204, solder mask 206, solder pads 208, and anunmasked portion 210. The unmasked portion 210 disposed below component204 extends between pads 208. Residual solder flux from the solderingprocess may build up between board 212 and component 204. Despiteclearance between board 212 and component 204 provided by unmaskedportion 210, cleaning solution (also referred to herein as “cleaningfluid”) may not be able to sufficiently access the area between thesolder mask 206 and the component 204 and residue may not easily beremoved, leaving uncleansed, or partially cleaned solder residue.

FIGS. 3 and 4 show an illustrative board 314 including a solder mask 306of the present invention. Board 314 includes a component 304, a soldermask 306, and pads 308. Board 314 further includes inlet 316, outlet317, and channel 318 formed in a surface of the board 314.

As shown in FIG. 4, board 314 has a base substrate 426 that is anon-conductive layer that provides structure to the board 314 as well asa secure base layer for component 304, copper plate 424, and solder mask306 to be affixed. Copper plate 424 is applied to base substrate 426 toform conductive paths, traces, and pads 308. Copper plate 424electrically connects to component 304 when attached with solder 420.Further, copper plate 424 provides physical attachment points forcomponent 304 and solder 420 by forming pads 308. Pads 308 are formed byapplication of copper plate 424. During solder operations, pads 308receive solder 420 to structurally attach and electrically connectcomponent 304 to copper plate 424 and to any other components (notshown) via conductive traces. Solder mask 306 is then applied to protectconductive paths or traces from shorting or generally receiving solderduring the soldering process. The solder mask 306 is applied over theentire board 314. In an exemplary embodiment, channel 318 along withinlet 316 and outlet 317 are formed in solder mask 306 underneathdesired components 304.

As previously discussed, residual solder flux and other residue mayremain underneath component 304 after soldering. Further, solder ballsmay become entrapped under the component 304 due to the solder reflowprocess. After the component 304 is mounted to board 314, board 314 iscleaned. In order to facilitate cleaning, and referring to FIGS. 3 and4, solder mask 306 has a channel 318 formed therein below component 304between pads 308 in order to provide flow of a fluid underneath thecomponent 304. In an exemplary embodiment, the fluid flows in adirection substantially perpendicular to a line connecting pads 308. Inan exemplary embodiment, channel 318 has a generally rectangular shapeof length d and width w. Walls of channel 318 are formed by the interioredges of pads 308 revealed by removing solder mask 306 in a selectedarea. As previously discussed, the shape of the solder mask 306 may beformed via computer aided design. In an exemplary embodiment, the lengthd of channel 318 is designed to be at least the width W of component 304and the width w of channel 318 is designed to be defined by the interioredges of pads 308 to allow for a sufficient cleaning path underneathcomponent 304. Further, channel 318 may scale with the length L andwidth W of such components 304 and associated pads 308.

The channel 318 allows for cleaning solution to flow underneath thecomponent 304 to allow for chemical and mechanical cleaning of residualsolder flux and entrapped solder balls from beneath component 304. In anexemplary embodiment, channel 318 allows for turbulent flow of thecleaning fluid as the cleaning fluid enters the channel 318. Further, inan exemplary embodiment, the channel 318 has a depth of about 1.5 milsto 2.5 mils (38.1-63.5 micrometers) below a surface 410 of theelectronic circuit board 314, allowing for a total of 1-3 mils(25.4-76.2 micrometers) of clearance for cleaning solutions betweencomponent 304 and board 314.

Flow of cleaning fluid into channel 318 is facilitated by inlet 316 andoutlet 317 which directs fluid into channel 318 and expels fluid out ofchannel 318, respectively. Inlet 316 and outlet 317 extend beyond thelength of component 304 or array of components 304 to facilitate flow ofcleaning solution into and out of channel 318. As shown in FIG. 3,solder mask 306 has an inlet 316 transitioning to channel 318 to allowflow of fluid into the channel and similarly an outlet 317 transitionsout of channel 318 to allow fluid to flow out of channel 318. Inlet 316and outlet 317 may be used interchangeably wherein inlet 316 mayfunction as an outlet and outlet 317 may function as an inlet. Inlet 316and outlet 317 may have a converging or diverging shape to direct flow,wherein the outermost point of either inlet 316 or outlet 317 is smallerthan the width W of channel 318. In certain embodiments, inlet 316 maydiverge from a starting point P to allow a cleaning fluid to beintroduced to the full width of channel 318. A depth of the inlet 316 atpoint P may be substantially negligible, with the depth of the inlet 316increasing to a depth of the channel 318 when moving from point P towardthe channel 318. The depth of the inlet 316 may vary linearly withdistance or according to a selected function that produces a selectedfluid flow. Similarly, in certain embodiments, outlet 317 may convergeto a point Q to expel a cleaning fluid and residual solder flux or otherresidue from the channel 318. A depth of the outlet 317 at point Q maybe substantially negligible, with the depth of the outlet 318 increasingto a depth of the channel 318 when moving from point Q toward thechannel 318. The depth may vary linearly with distance or according to aselected function. In certain embodiments, inlet 316 and outlet 317 haveboundary edges 319 that do not interface with channel 318 or that areadjacent to channel 318. For these embodiments, the length of theboundary edges 319 may be substantially equal to the width w ofcorresponding channel 318 to ensure sufficient flow into channel 318. Inan exemplary embodiment, inlet 316 and outlet 317 is formed in the shapeof an equilateral triangle, wherein the sides of inlet 316 and outlet317 are equal in length to the width w of channel 318. This type ofconfiguration allows for the shape of inlet 316 and outlet 317 to scaleappropriately with the size of channel 318. The shapes of inlet 316 andoutlet 317 may be selected to allow for turbulent flow of the cleaningfluid to be created within channel 318 as flow transitions into thelower elevation of channel 318 from the higher elevation solder mask306.

Inlet 316, outlet 317 and channel 318 are formed by forming a groove orslit in solder mask 306. The formation of inlet 316 and outlet 317 inconjunction with channel 318 allows for cleaning solution to be forcedunder component 304 to form a Jetting Zone of fluid underneath thecomponent 304. The speed of the fluid in the channel 318 may beincreased with respect to the speed of fluid flow in conventionalcleaning methods, thereby reducing cleaning times over conventionalcleaning methods. For example, cleaning may be achieved at a processspeed of about 2 feet per minute, compared to conventional cleaningprocesses requiring a slower process speed of about 0.5 feet per minute,thereby reducing cleaning time by about 75%.

FIG. 5 is a schematic plan view of an electronic circuit board with achannel 518 extending beneath multiple components 504. The multiplecomponents 504 may be aligned along a selected direction to form a roworiented along board 514. Such alignment of components 504 maystreamline fabrication processes, reduce overall board 514 size, andincrease production and operation efficiency. Channel 518 thus may beformed to extend under the multiple components 504 to allow fluid toflow underneath the multiple components 504. The inlet 516 and outlet517 are thus formed at the beginning and end of the row of multiplecomponents. Such formation of channel 518, inlet 516, and outlet 517allows for the simplified formation of channel 518 under multiplecomponents 504 where multiple channels may not be desirable.

The use of the terms “a” and “an” and “the” and similar referents in thecontext of describing the invention (especially in the context of thefollowing claims) is to be construed to cover both the singular and theplural, unless otherwise indicated herein or clearly contradicted bycontext. The terms “comprising,” “having,” “including,” and “containing”are to be construed as open-ended terms (i.e., meaning “including, butnot limited to,”) unless otherwise noted. Recitation of ranges of valuesherein are merely intended to serve as a shorthand method of referringindividually to each separate value falling within the range, unlessotherwise indicated herein, and each separate value is incorporated intothe specification as if it were individually recited herein. All methodsdescribed herein can be performed in any suitable order unless otherwiseindicated herein or otherwise clearly contradicted by context. The useof any and all examples, or exemplary language (e.g., “such as”)provided herein, is intended merely to better illuminate the inventionand does not pose a limitation on the scope of the invention unlessotherwise claimed. No language in the specification should be construedas indicating any non-claimed element as essential to the practice ofthe invention.

Exemplary embodiments of this invention are described herein, includingthe best mode known to the inventors for carrying out the invention.Variations of those embodiments may become apparent to those of ordinaryskill in the art upon reading the foregoing description. The inventorsexpect skilled artisans to employ such variations as appropriate, andthe inventors intend for the invention to be practiced otherwise than asspecifically described herein. Accordingly, this invention includes allmodifications and equivalents of the subject matter recited in theclaims appended hereto as permitted by applicable law. Moreover, anycombination of the above-described elements in all possible variationsthereof is encompassed by the invention unless otherwise indicatedherein or otherwise clearly contradicted by context.

What is claimed is:
 1. An electronic circuit board, comprising: a basesubstrate layer; a copper layer over the base substrate layer; copperpads formed on the copper layer; a solder mask formed over the copperlayer; a component affixed to the copper pads and disposed over achannel formed in the solder mask, the channel including: a main channelportion formed in the solder mask, wherein walls of the main channelportion are formed by interior edges of the copper pads and the mainchannel portion has a selected width; an inlet formed in the solder maskextending beyond the component at one end of the main channel portion,wherein the inlet is in a shape of an equilateral triangle having oneside corresponding to the width of the main channel portion and twosides converging to a point, wherein a depth of the inlet issubstantially negligible at the point and increases linearly to thedepth of the main channel portion; and an outlet formed in the soldermask extending beyond the component at another end of the main channelportion opposite the inlet, wherein the outlet is in a shape of anequilateral triangle having one side corresponding to the width of themain channel portion and two sides converging to a point, wherein adepth of the inlet is substantially negligible at the point andincreases linearly to the depth of the main channel portion.
 2. Theelectronic circuit board of claim 1, wherein the channel has a clearanceof at least 2 mils (50.8 micrometers) between a bottom of the mainchannel portion and a component.
 3. The electronic circuit board ofclaim 1, wherein the inlet and the outlet each have at least one edgethat is the same length as a width of the main channel portion.
 4. Theelectronic circuit board of claim 1, wherein the shape of the inletallows for turbulent flow in the channel.
 5. The electronic circuitboard of claim 1, wherein the main channel portion is formed between afirst solder pad and a second solder pad of the electronic circuitboard.
 6. The electronic circuit board of claim 1, further comprising atleast one additional component affixed to the copper layer, wherein theat least one additional component is disposed above the main channelportion and the inlet and the outlet extend underneath the component andbeyond the at least one additional component.